Drones: New Frontiers in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles , The year 2013 saw continued development and expansion of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are commonly called drones. Known primarily as standoff weapons and observation platforms used in the so-called war on terrorism, drones also had been utilized for several nonmilitary applications, most notably in the areas of law enforcement and wildlife monitoring. The main advantage of military drones is that they do not place a human pilot in danger. They can fly preprogrammed courses, or they can be piloted by operators in control rooms via satellite from half a world away. (Military drones used in Iraq and Afghanistan are operated from Nellis and Creech air force bases in Nevada.) Nonmilitary drones can be operated relatively inexpensively (perhaps for as little as $3.36 per hour), because they do not have the burden of carrying humans.

Launched by hand, Raven drones performed short-range reconnaissance over parts of Afghanistan for …

Todd Pitman/AP Images

Military drones continue to be one of the preferred assets in hunting important members of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization. In Yemen in 2011, missile strikes destroyed the automobile convoy carrying American-born al-Qaeda-affiliated Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. In a similar operation, American Predator and Reaper drones flying over Yemen in July and August 2013 launched a series of hellfire missiles that killed dozens of suspected al-Qaeda operatives. Critics charged that rules governing drone strikes, which are designed to target only militants planning to harm or in the process of harming Americans, were elastic, given that some civilians were found among the dead. One of the most-publicized drone missile strikes during 2013, however, took place in September over Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan’s North Waziristan region. Missiles killed pro-Taliban commander Sangeen Zadran, a prominent figure involved in the kidnapping from Afghanistan in 2009 of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl; U.S. officials had placed Zadran on their list of global terrorists in 2011. Nonetheless, drone strikes in Pakistan, which have been taking place intermittently since 2004, have drawn criticism from Pakistanis, who often view overflights and attacks as violations of their national sovereignty.

Notable advancements were made in drone technology in 2013. In the summer the U.S. Navy celebrated the landing of an unmanned fighter-sized jet, the X-47B drone, on the USS George H.W. Bush supercarrier in the Atlantic. The X-47B, which was designed as a precision bomber, also flew from an aircraft carrier to an airstrip. In addition, drone piloting is no longer limited to the strict purview of the U.S. Air Force. Schools such as the University of North Dakota, Northwestern Michigan College, and Unmanned Vehicle University, Phoenix, offered programs (the latter also proffered advanced degrees) in UAV operation and maintenance.

The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator, developed by Northrop Grumman and the …

Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Timothy Walter/U.S. Navy

Nonmilitary Uses

Several nonmilitary applications of drone technology have also emerged, capturing the imagination of private business and the public sector. Drones have been used to film commercials and to photograph concerts and sporting events from the air. They have been used to sample local weather and other environmental conditions in remote areas. Relief agencies plan to use drones to deliver medicine and food to people living far from roads. Some businesses have considered using drones (in lieu of a technician) to inspect desolate stretches of infrastructure (such as pipelines or cabling) as a cost-saving measure. Amazon.com Inc. even tested package-delivery drones in 2013. Some public officials have also contemplated using drones to flush birds and other animals from sensitive areas, such as airports, or to perform precision crop dusting and targeted irrigation.

The issue that received the most attention in 2013 involved the role(s) drones should play in law enforcement. Many people agree that police departments could involve drones in matters ranging from catching drivers in the act when they speed or run stop signs to providing round-the-clock surveillance of illegal drug dealers and other dangerous criminals. The public and many public officials, however, are less than enthusiastic about letting police departments use drones in any way they see fit; some believe that law-enforcement drones would spell the end to privacy in the U.S. and effectively turn the country into a dystopic police state. Fanning that fear came the revelation in June that law-enforcement drones are already active; the FBI admitted that it has flown limited surveillance missions over the country.

Nevertheless, there are a number of misconceptions related to the practical use of police drones in the skies over the U.S. Though many people worry that the lack of rules governing police drones in one area or another would enable police departments to develop their own rules independent of public oversight, that scenario is simply not the case. In 2013 the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Justice collaborated on a set of rules governing small drones of up to 11.3 kg (25 lb). (Most drones available to law enforcement in 2013 weighed 2.3–3.2 kg [5–7 lb].) The rules, which will undergo a public commentary period in late 2013 and early 2014, were designed to place a number of restrictions on law enforcement and other operators (such as fire departments and other government agencies). One crucial limitation required that the vehicles be flown only by operators who have met FAA standards of training and proficiency in flying UAVs. In addition, the vehicle must be kept in view of the operator and a separate observer at all times. Drones can be operated only during daylight hours; they cannot be used to pursue criminals; and the drones themselves must remain under a flight ceiling of 122 m (400 ft) above the ground.

The drone models in use, however, are plagued by limited ranges and short times aloft. In 2013 law-enforcement drones simply did not have the ability to stay in the air 24 hours a day. Most had sufficient power to remain airborne for less than 90 minutes; however, at least one emerging model, the Stalker XE—a larger type of lightweight drone designed by Lockheed Martin to function at higher altitudes—should have a battery life that exceeds eight hours. The Stalker would also possess the capability of being recharged from the ground by using a laser, thereby stretching the vehicle’s flight time to approximately 48 hours.

Privacy at Issue

Despite those limitations, state governments and the public continue to worry about how drones might affect the ongoing privacy debate in the U.S., especially regarding the circumstances under which police departments would need to obtain a warrant to use drones in surveillance. To date, rules that apply to the use of drones have been derived in part from those that apply to surveillance from manned aircraft, such as helicopters and small planes. For example, testimony collected from helicopter pilots who serendipitously witnessed (with the naked eye) a crime being committed in public view could be admitted in court without the need for authorities to seek a search warrant. Active searches, however, with infrared sensors or other equipment designed to enhance the view of the eye, as well as any long-term surveillance of a person or property, still required warrants prior to the search. In short-term surveillance situations, photographs could be taken of a suspected person or property at heights greater than 122 m above ground level without a warrant, but photographs taken below that ceiling required one.

Those rules and restrictions could give the public some comfort, albeit temporary. As drone technology continues to advance, however, the rules will need to be revisited and reinterpreted to ensure that a balance is established between police departments’ use of new valuable cost-effective crime-fighting tools and the public’s right to privacy.

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Drones: New Frontiers in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Year In Review 2013